Backyard Medicine: Why Growing Herbs Could Be the Healthiest Choice You Ever Make

When people hear I’m growing over a hundred plants and trees in my yard, they usually picture the big stuff like mangoes, avocados, and coconuts. And yes, those are here, but what often gets overlooked are the herbs. These little plants don’t take up much space, but they’ve had a bigger impact on my health and my family’s life than almost anything else I grow. For me, this isn’t just about flavor in the kitchen, it’s about health, discipline, and passing down something real to my kids.

I’ve been studying herbs and natural healing for over twenty years, long before GrowFitFL was even an idea. Back then, I didn’t fully understand how much power was sitting in the soil right outside my door. Losing my dad made that even more real. It pushed me to take what I knew and put it into action not just for myself, but for my family, and now for everyone who finds the channel. I’ve seen what happens when people rely only on pills and prescriptions. There’s a time and place for medicine, but the simple herbs God gave us have been healing people for generations. Lemongrass tea calms stress. Aloe vera soothes burns and skin issues. Moringa leaves are packed with so many vitamins they might as well be nature’s multivitamin. And modern science is finally proving what tradition always knew turmeric fights inflammation, basil helps with stress, rosemary supports memory, ginger boosts digestion. These aren’t exotic. They’re the same plants I walk past every day in my backyard, the same plants I reach for before I even think about heading to a store.

Buying herbs from the store is nothing like growing your own. Dried leaves in a jar are a shadow of what the plant really offers. Fresh mint in cold water wakes you up in a way the dusty store-bought stuff never could. And when you grow it yourself, you know exactly what’s on it. No sprays, no chemicals, just clean, living food. Every time I step outside and pick basil or lemongrass, I know I’m getting something pure, something real. I tell people all the time: it’s not about being perfect, it’s about being prepared. Every herb you grow is one less thing you depend on someone else for.

If you’ve watched my channel, you’ve seen these herbs tucked in between the bigger trees. Lemongrass growing tall in the heat. Basil I keep cutting and it keeps coming back. Aloe vera scattered in pots because with four kids, someone always ends up scraped or burned. And then there’s moringa. I’ve got five trees right now, and I still get comments every week on my moringa video from people all over the world sharing how that tree changed their health. That’s when I realized this isn’t just about me it’s about all of us learning and passing it on.

Storms come, sickness comes, stress comes. Herbs are part of how I keep my family ready. If a hurricane knocks out the stores, I’ve got ginger and turmeric in the ground. If stress is high, I’ve got lemongrass and basil ready to steep into tea. If one of my kids gets burned, aloe is always close by. That’s not theory, that’s daily life in West Central Florida. This is why I keep telling people to start small but start. Put mint in a pot. Plant a rosemary bush. Drop some lemongrass in the ground. Watch how much they give back, and before long you’ll add more without even thinking about it.

I’m not sharing this to impress anybody. I’m sharing it because I believe God gave us these tools to take care of ourselves and the people we love. GrowFitFL is just me showing the journey, hoping it inspires someone else to plant a seed and take the first step. At the end of the day, this isn’t about building the perfect food forest. It’s about building a backyard that heals. Every herb is a reminder that health doesn’t have to come from a bottle. It can come from your own soil, your own hands, your own discipline.

So plant the herbs. Brew that first cup of tea. Show your kids where real medicine comes from. Build a yard that feeds you, heals you, and gives you peace. That’s what I’m doing in my backyard, and that’s what I’ll keep showing on the channel. Because your health depends on it and it’s worth it.